CAMPBELL McCONNELL
Artist in residence with The Writers' Room for October 2026
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Before starting his residency, Campbell contacted St Mary Magdalene Church, Islington, responding to an advertisement for people interested in learning bell ringing. ‘I thought that the best way for me to begin my research into the history of bell ringing was to first learn how to ring myself. I was invited to a ringing tower at another local church, St James’ Church, a stone’s throw away from The Writers’ Room. I would come to learn across two towers: St James’ every Tuesday evening, and St Mary’s on Upper Street every first and third Thursday of the month. I climbed up the spiral staircase at St James’ and was greeted by at least eight other ringers. It was a tiny, cosy room - a time capsule - with tiny murder holes and outdated motorised air-conditioning units. Mounted on the walls were bell boards, signs, a clock, shelves with zines, handouts, guides and publications, all documenting the learning process of English change ringing.I am especially interested in this transition between the past and future technologies of bell
ringing. Historically, “change ringing” did not exist in the Middle Ages; it was invented in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Before change ringing developed, traditional ringers practised what is sometimes described as “swing-chiming”. The bells were swung back and forth to create an acoustic wall of sound, with the belief that the sound could ward off storms and protect villages. These storms were believed to be possessed by demons and the devil. During a storm, lightning could strike the bell, travel down the rope and electrocute and kill the bell ringer. This only reinforced the belief that the storms were evil. I began thinking about the relationship between sound, fear and the supernatural. A bell can warn, protect, organise, frighten, reassure and create music. Its meaning changes, while the physical object remains. The technology changes, the belief changes, the moral system changes, but the bell continues to sound’.
